Flame of the Phoenix
by lostfyrefli
Summary: To live, to die and to be reborn. That is the life of the phoenix...or is it? (chapter 2 - revised/finished)
1. Prolouge

It was dark in the woods. Blackness clung to the trees, that weren't touched by a lone fire's glow. And before the fire sat a boy, his shadow being teased by the orange colored flames licking the air, up towards the heavens. An owl screeched through the forest, it's flight soundless through its flapping wings. It landed, perching itself at a nearby branch, and with it's huge yellow eyes, the bird watched the figure before the open flames. All this went on unnoticed by the boy, being consumed with thoughts and images which replayed themselves over and over, in his mind. Until one phrase refused to budge. 

_You'll lose her, if things keep going this way.   
You'll lose her...   
Lose her... _

The simple phrase continued pounding in his mind. Unwillingly his hands flew to his head, clutching it as if in pain. The clues, hints that she'd dropped the whole time. All of which he'd thrown aside, not believing. And now, now he was paying. Paying for being insensitive, careless. Paying for believing she'd always be there. But now what? She was gone. And he was nothing with out her. Nothing. 

"Akane..." quietly escaped from his lips.


	2. Enter the Flames

Flame of the Phoenix - Enter the Flames  
Written by: Sweetasians  
  
Disclaimer: The characters of Ranma 1/2 do not belong to me. I've just taken a hefty loan from Nabiki to use them.  
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The young man continued starring into the flames of orange and red that danced about the logs. Totally oblivious to anything outside his mind, including a pair of eyes that were moving towards his back. Rustling dry leaves and branches, finally caught Ranma's attention. Too late...the intruder was there in the clearing with him.  
  
"Where in the world am I now?" Said a worn out boy in exasperation.  
  
"Ryoga!"  
  
"Ranma? Wha, this isn't Nerima," replied the boy.  
  
A surly reply returned to Ryoga then, "Wow, you noticed that Bacon Breath." Yet quickly finding the new arrival not worth his attention, Ranma turned back to gazing into the fire.  
  
Ryoga, hating to be called Bacon Breath (or anything related to pigs) opened his mouth for a smart remark. However, nothing came out. He looked at the state his "rival" was in, and bit his tongue into stillness. Scattered through out the clearing, he noticed Ranma's tent pieces. And beside the warm fire lay the remains of a cold untouched dinner. More disturbing then the untouched food by Ranma, were his eyes. Those slate blue-gray eyes which contained so much life on a normal bases, were at present blood-shot, filled with trouble and unblinking.  
  
The silence between the two was deafening. Not even the wind breathed a single breathe. "Hoo, hooooo..." cried the tawny owl, still perched on its branch. Startled, Ryoga gave a small jump, before chasseing himself. His own eyes moved back to Ranma's still form, seeing he hadn't moved even a millimeter during this time.  
  
"Um...Ranma," began Ryoga, but stopped. Was it his business to ask. 'Probably some stupid training,' thought the boy and began to turn to leave.  
  
"It's Akane," Ranma stated quietly.  
  
At the name of his love, Ryoga broke the record for doing a 180, picking Ranma up by the scruff of his shirt. "Akane! What's wrong with her? Ranma, I swear if this is your fault you won't live to see tomorrow!" His arms trembled at the thought of something horrid happening to his Akane. Visions of nightmarish proportions racked his mind of what might have be fallen her. "Answer me, damn you!" Ryoga shouted, shaking Ranma like a rag doll.  
  
Whap came the sound of something annoying connecting with Ryoga's head. Dropping the pigtailed boy with a thud he turned to face the flat of a giant spatula. Holding it up, stood a long brown haired, brown eyed, pretty young girl with an expression to kill.  
  
"Ukyo!"  
  
Wham, another encounter with the girl's spatula. "Ranchan's been through enough, with out you ripping on him." the girl stated matter of factly. Turning to the topic of conversation, Ukyo bent down, attempting to coax Ranma into eating. "Come on sugar, you got to eat _something_."  
  
Silence again filled the camp. Ranma sat where he had been dropped, this time with a far away look on his face. "Akane..." he said the name lightly and with care as if it was a scarce word. "Where are you?" the pigtailed martial artist mumbled into his knees.  
  
Throwing her hands up in defeat, Ukyo brushed herself off. Gathering herself, she stood beside Ryoga, shaking her head. "I don't know what to do. He's been like this ever since _she_ disappeared. It wasn't so bad in the beginning. But now..." tears formed in the girl's eyes. Disbelief, pain and all the stress that had been building broke like dam, flowing freely. Voice shaking, she continued, "now he's like an empty shell."   
  
The eternally lost boy stood in disbelief. 'Ranma, what's happened to you? do you truely care about Akane this much?' though the boy. Growing angry that his rival chould make him question suck things, Ryoga lashed out. "You don't deserve her Saotome! Do you hear me? You're always hurting her."  
  
"Ryoga!" Gasped Ukyo. "Stop it."  
  
"Why? He doesn't deserve her. He doesn't deserve you either. How can you care about him, when he's trampling your own feelings?" Ryoga spat out. Furiously he turned to Ranma saying, "Come on, fight me. Fight me Ranma, or is everything I'm saying true?"  
  
Whipping out her spatula, Ukyo began pounding away at the Bandana Boy. "I won't let you insult Ranchan anymore! Just go away!" She continued her onslaught of Ryoga, creating little dents on her weapon.  
  
Reaching his peak, Ryoga yanked the spatula out of Ukyo's grip. Ignoring the girl and the slight headache he was getting, he continued attacking Ranma. The tone of his voice had however changed. "If you cared, you wouldn't be here moping. If you saw how she looks at you sometimes Saotome, you'd be by her side right now. but you don't, you don't see how much she cares about you. If only you did Ranma."  
  
Some of what Ryoga had said must've reached Ranma. His eyes had risen to meet the Lost Boy's. Minutes passed as the two looked at on other. Then as if he had been given his resolve back, Ranma took hold of his cold dinner and began to eat. Ryoga joining him by his side.  
  
Ukyo just stood and watched the two. Side by side they sat eating in a civilalized fashion, almost being friendly with each other. She blinked, raising her eyes to the heavens. "Boys, go figure."  
  
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Author's Note: This is the finished version of chapter two. Hope you guys liked it. I don't know why, but I keep writing more for this story around midnight. *sigh* I'm not sure if I'll be incorporating Shampoo and Mousse into the story. I'm 50/50 about it right now. Also you might see a bit of Oh My Goddess in the story later on. However I don't think it will be enough to actually have this be called a "crossover" fic. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible. As always please R&R. Good night!


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